Statement on funding system for horse racing

Following the Government announcement on a new system for funding horse racing, an ABB spokesman said:

“We welcome the Government abandoning the racing right in favour of the adaptation of the existing levy as a new system for the betting industry to fund horse racing.

We will be working closely with the Government and Horseracing on the critical and so far undecided detail of the new system to ensure that any new levy is both fair to horseracing and the betting industry.

The amount that racing receives from betting, particularly in media payments has grown by tens of millions in recent years. On top of this, betting shops already bear an unfair burden and the current rate of 10.75% is unsustainable for the retail sector.

Any new deal on levy has to be fair to betting shops and should be based on an accurate assessment of the level of subsidy required to support horseracing.”